


Fable Township: Chapter One

by parttimetales



Category: Brave (2012), Frozen (2013)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-04
Updated: 2019-02-04
Packaged: 2019-10-22 07:39:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17658716
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/parttimetales/pseuds/parttimetales
Summary: The exact whereabouts of Fable Township are unknown. The residents themselves would be unable to spot the location on a map, though they have tried and failed using weather and neighboring cities. Their guesses were so varied and incorrect that they abandoned any future attempts and instead give this advice:To find the city, one must simply follow their heart. Whatever that means.It would be foolish to expect a town like Fable to operate in the same linearity as the outside world. It is a town unlike any that has ever existed before. It is where fiction meets reality, where fate can be written and unwritten and rewritten, and where magic is more plentiful than fruit.Welcome to Fable Township.





	Fable Township: Chapter One

“Elinor is inviting us to the highland games,” Elsa says to the pile of red curls splashed across the kitchen table. The curls mumble something back, but Elsa has never been able to decipher a groggy Merida. “Oh, look. She included a picture of your family. Your brothers have gotten so big.”

Elsa sits the letter and picture next to the mound of hair and tries to push a few curls away from the plate of eggs sitting in front of it. She returns to her newspaper and coffee as Merida begins to stir, grabbing the photo first.

“I think they’re thirteen now,” Merida mumbles before yawning loudly. She grabs the letter and snorts, “I wonder if my ma thinks adding a few lesbians to the mix will makes the games more excitin’ this year.”

Maybe less exciting then turning your mom into a bear, Elsa thinks.

“The boys will likely be competing this year. Or next. I can’t remember what age they start allowing boys to compete.”

Elsa recognizes the tone in her voice immediately.

“It might be nice to see your family. It has been a while.” She tries, but Merida shrugs and starts shoveling the eggs into her mouth.

_You two are so . . so domestic now._

Anna had spat the words out at the end of her trip to Fable Township. She came once, with Kristof and their little girl in tow, because it was all the throne could allow and she wanted Elsa to meet her daughter. Anna had been supportive of Elsa leaving, even supported her relationship with the fiery red head, but Elsa suspected she never thought the departure would be permanent. When she saw the life that Elsa and Merida had created in Fable, she seemed distraught.

_I just don’t understand why you left Arendelle for this . . . for domestic life. We have that, you know. We have all of this . . ._

Elsa knew that her sister felt abandoned. But how could she stay there? How could she reign over a community that shunned her and live in a castle that imprisoned her? She needed freedom that Arendelle couldn’t offer.

And, as soon as she met Merida, she knew that she wanted to run far away with this extraordinary woman. She tried to explain it to Anna before she left, and again after Anna visited, but there were some things Anna would never understand. Despite growing up in the same castle with the same parents, Anna and Elsa were very different people.

When Merida finished her eggs, she grabbed her plate and Elsa’s and brought them to the kitchen. She suggested the two have lunch downtown and maybe take a hike in the mountains. Maybe they were a bit domestic, at least on Saturdays, Elsa conceded. But Fable still had more adventure and excitement than Arendelle or Dunbroch could offer them, with monsters and villains and magic.

It also had people who understood. People who didn’t look at Elsa like she was a defect that needed correcting or banishment.

——

They met almost five years ago. Merida and Elinor were traveling under the guise of establishing alliances and trade partnerships with the surrounding communities. But Merida went to explore, knowing adventures would be limited in a few years, when her father retired from the throne and thrust it on her. She also suspected that her mom might have other plans for the trip, plans that involved wedding bells and payments of cattle.

“You couldn’t possibly believe I would sell you for cattle, do you?”

Merida shrugged, and half-jokingly responded, “Nah, but I’d imagine sheep might be an option.”

The arrived very late to Arendelle, the second kingdom they were visiting, due to Merida’s only slightly unforeseen need to explore the beautiful forest outside of the community. The excursion led Merida and Elinor stumbling into a group of trolls who talked too loud, asked too many questions, and gave too many inappropriate responses. Merida immediately loved them.

One of the trolls, Boulder or something, took Merida by the hand and asked her about her upcoming nuptials.

“Whoa, quiet down. Don’t let my mom hear you because she’s gonna think you’re serious.”

Boulder looked Merida straight in the eyes, only possible because she was standing on the backs of two trolls.

“There’s someone. I can see it. Or someone is coming very soon.” She gracefully hopped off of the trolls and rolled into a ball, “I’m rarely wrong about these things.”

When the trolls offered them dinner, Elinor quickly interjected that they must continue on in their journey.

Since they didn’t arrive at Arendelle until the middle of the night, Merida and Elinor had to wait until the next morning to meet the queen. When they made it to breakfast, Merida still half asleep, but Elinor looking queenly as always, they met the princess and her husband. They were annoyingly adorable. Merida pinched herself a few times to stop from laughing. Or rolling her eyes. Or vomiting.

“When will Queen Elsa be joining us?”

Anna responded with a wide smile, “Oh, very soon of course. She is very excited that you came to visit the kingdom. Now, I’ve never been to Scotland, but I hear that it is quite lovely. Though, I admit, I’ve heard a few stories about bears in the —“

Merida had unfortunately taken a large gulp of her orange juice while Anna was speaking. When Anna mentioned the bears, Merida spat out a good amount onto the table and herself. Elinor sighed, bringing her hand to her temple, clearly frustrated, while Anna and Kristoff looked alarmed. Merida heard a low chuckle behind her.

“I hope the orange juice wasn’t that bad.”

Merida turned around quickly and felt her stomach drop and her face flush. She wasn’t sure if it was the embarrassment from spitting orange juice across the table of royalty or the fact that she was staring at the most striking woman she had ever seen. The woman eyes were locked onto Merida’s, curiously eyeing her, and the corners of her lips were turned into a small smile.

“Shall we grab you something else? Water will likely stain less, dare you decide to spit that out, too.”

“I am so . . . I’m sorry . . .” Merida stops trying to speak. Why has the room suddenly gotten so much hotter?

The rest of the day continues the same. Merida fumbled on words and dropped more than one glass, and Elsa would respond with a tight grin. It was never cruel, just amused, maybe even curious. Elinor became more and more irritated at Merida, but it was undetectable to the queen and princess.

By the end of the day, with her mother barely speaking to her and Elsa giving her curious looks throughout the day, she was able to firmly conclude that her mom wishes she could banish her and that she was hopeless, and inexplicably, drawn to the ice queen. The next two weeks would be insufferable.


End file.
